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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27248665">Steven Diamond Universe</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/RosewaterStories_Official/pseuds/RosewaterStories_Official'>RosewaterStories_Official</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Steven Universe (Cartoon)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>AU, F/M, Mostly Human Steven, Steven Is Born A Diamond, The Gems Bailed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-07 00:00:34</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,901</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27248665</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/RosewaterStories_Official/pseuds/RosewaterStories_Official</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Steven is born with Pink Diamond's gem facing out of his belly the way it originally was, causing the Crystal Gems to split away from each other. Greg is left to care for Steven on his own with the reluctant help of his own family as Steven grows up knowing little to nothing about his gem half. But an incident that occurs when he's 14 is about to change all of that.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Connie Maheswaran/Steven Universe</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>56</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Steven Diamond Universe</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was cold. </p>
<p>More than cold. In fact, it was the coldest that Greg had seen in many years. A full-on blizzard had swept across the nearby states, facing bitter cold and nearly impossible to drive on roads. It was just his luck it had to happen now, too. Here he was, shivering like crazy in his beloved van parked outside a place he never ever planned to go back to.</p>
<p>Part of him wanted to drive away right then and there and forget the whole plan. But when he looked over into his passenger seat and took a look at his tiny shivering son, he knew he didn’t have a choice…</p>
<p>...</p>
<p>Rose had been gone for five months now. He still remembered the day he had lost her and gained their son. When she had gone into labor she insisted upon being brought to the beach, to look out on the Earth that she loved. It had been one of the hardest things for Greg to watch as she laid under the umbrella, going through the required pain of giving birth to a child. Once everything was over and Steven was born it was supposed to be a joyous moment.</p>
<p>But instead all hell broke loose at the sight of the newborn baby.</p>
<p>Instead of Rose’s quartz gem poking at his belly, his gem was in the shape of a full upside-down pink diamond, clear as day. Not only that, but as Steven’s eyes opened for the first time, diamond slitted pupils welcomed everyone’s sights.</p>
<p>The silence had only lasted maybe thirty seconds before Pearl broke down in horrible painful sobs, following her confession about everything she had known and had been forced to keep from all of them. That Rose Quartz was actually Pink Diamond and had faked her shattering. That she had been forced to keep quiet and it had been breaking her.</p>
<p>Greg could only watch everything unravel as he held his newborn son, watching Garnet unfuse right in front of him, Sapphire beginning a screaming match with a still sobbing Pearl. Ruby looked just as hurt, joining in the screaming. Amethyst stayed behind, full of confusion and betrayal. All the while, Steven was crying his little eyes out at the sound of all the gems fighting.</p>
<p>The rest of the day was a complete blur to Greg, who was just focused on keeping his newborn son wrapped up and away from the screaming gems. He had tried once or twice to calm them, but it was pointless. By the time the fight got to its boiling point, Pearl had ordered Greg to take Steven and leave. </p>
<p>In just mere minutes, everything had changed for Greg. Rose was gone and it turns out she wasn’t even Rose to begin with, and now here he was with a hybrid newborn having no idea what to do and now completely on his own. He did the only thing he really knew how to. He got in his van and left. </p>
<p>…</p>
<p>Raising Steven in a van was harder than he’d assumed. And more expensive. Working at the car wash definitely got him some money but in the long run it wasn’t exactly enough to support himself and a baby. Maybe it would have benefited him to read a parenting book or two but he had spent the last eight years completely winging it and going with the flow. Babies just needed food, milk, and shelter, right? Wrong. Babies needed stability, comfort, way more diapers than he ever thought, and babies did not sleep through the night. Greg had spent pretty much every night trying to hush Steven to sleep and it was beginning to be a nightmare. Vidalia was nice enough to watch Steven while Greg worked, but every time he went to pick up his son it was more than clear that Vidalia knew what she was doing looking after a baby and he did not.</p>
<p>More than once Vidalia had carefully asked Greg about adoption, but he refused every single time. Steven wasn’t a normal baby, it would be a complete disaster to give him to a new family. Vidalia had tried to reason that Steven would at least have a home and stability, but eventually gave up arguing with the devastated man. He promised Rose that he would take care of Steven and that’s what he planned to do.</p>
<p>He wondered about the gems often. If they still lived at the temple, if they were even still together. But he didn’t dare go and find out. He knew just how powerful they could be and with Rose gone there would be no one to protect him if they got violent. Especially Pearl. She probably blamed him for everything...and she was right to. Without him Steven wouldn’t have been born and Rose would be alive and the gems would be happy...but no matter how many times he thought about it he just could never regret Steven.</p>
<p>Despite causing him to have to bend backwards to take care of him and keep him alive, Greg loved Steven. With everything he had. Steven was his little boy, his goober, his buddy...all he wanted was for Steven to be happy. And Greg was more than willing to give up everything he had to to make sure that his infant was thriving. By the time Steven was three months old it almost seemed like he was finally getting into a proper routine of caring for his son.</p>
<p>But then the blizzard hit.</p>
<p>It had easily been one of the coldest blizzards to ever hit Delmarva, nonetheless the surrounding states. Everything was pounded with ice and snow and the bitter cold was only getting worse and worse by the day. Greg hadn’t been concerned at first but it was now day five of the blizzard and the cold was so bitter and so strong that even having the heat full blast in his van wasn’t enough to keep him warm. But it wasn’t himself he was worried about...he was worried about Steven. Despite everything, Steven was only five months old and it was clear that wrapping him up in many t-shirts was not going to keep him warm anymore. Greg knew he had to do something...or his infant would freeze to death.</p>
<p>Vidalia had been his saving grace, offering him her house for a few days while she and Yellowtail visited his family. The weather may have been dreadful but Yellowtail was not about to skip out on a visit to his family’s. It felt odd for Greg to be inside a house again, with full access to a kitchen and a bathroom at any time. He absolutely relished in it, being able to sleep in an actual bed again for the first time in years. The thing he cared most about though was having a safe place for Steven...being in a warm environment. Steven seemed happier in the house, able to roll around the couch, be in a soft bed, and get washed in an actual sink instead of being wiped down with a wet washcloth.</p>
<p>The only time that things had gotten stressful was when he was playing with Steven on the couch and his gem suddenly began to glow. Naturally, Greg had panicked, especially not having anyone to ask about if glowing was normal for gems. A quick Boogle search had confirmed that human babies did not glow, and Greg was forced to accept it was a gem thing and not question it further. It was best to just...enjoy the house.</p>
<p>But like all good things, it had to end. Vidalia came back from the visit early because the weather was just getting too bad and she had invited Greg to stay for a little longer. Greg had politely refused the offer, fearing that he would be a burden staying in his friend’s house with his baby son. The weather had still not gotten better, and it just made him panic that Steven would get sick or perish from the harsh cold. He couldn’t afford an apartment by any means, or even a hotel. He was half-tempted to drive to the temple and beg the gems for some shelter, at least the temple was warm. But the unpredictability of the gems was something he just wasn’t willing to risk, especially not as sole caretaker for his son.</p>
<p>A thought came to his mind as he rocked Steven to sleep in ten bunched up Mr. Universe t-shirts. It was winter...and maybe, just maybe, his parents wouldn’t be home. Still at their awful vacation on Florida Island. It was very illegal for sure, but he knew exactly how to get into that house without suspicion and would be able to do the same when they got home. It was risky...but as the father of a fragile five month old he was beyond desperate. The drive would be long too...and money for the gas would have to come from his food budget. But it would be alright...a few days without three meals wouldn’t kill him. Desperate and needing to get his son into a safe place, he turned the key in the ignition and headed towards Keystone.</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>After many hours of driving on scary icy roads and practically setting Steven on top of the car heater, Greg finally found himself in his old neighborhood. Nothing had changed in the eight years he had been gone. Despite it being covered with snow, he recognized the grey-ish white painted house, counting the steps to the door and seeing the old tree that he used to sneak out of the house. 7933 Chickadee Hill had not changed. Not in the slightest. It would have been so easy to grab Steven and make his way to the backyard and climb the tree to get back into warmth and safety...but there was one problem.</p>
<p>His parent’s car was in the driveway.</p>
<p>The realization that they were back from their vacation already made Greg sick to his stomach. He had been counting on them to be gone, ready to mooch off of their electricity until the blizzard calmed down at least. But now he was in a heated mental debate with himself. He could turn around and spend the night driving back to Delmarva and beg Vidalia to let him and Steven stay in her house for another few days, or he could go up to the front door of his childhood home and beg them to help him.</p>
<p>Help.</p>
<p>Greg had such a difficult time swallowing it. Ever since the gems rejected him and Steven he was so sure that he didn’t need help. Vidalia didn’t count as help, she was just...doing him a favor. He could raise Steven just fine on his own. Steven didn’t need rules or stability or choices made for him. Steven could be a happy baby and a happy kid and he didn’t need anyone’s help.</p>
<p>Tears built up in Greg’s eyes as he looked down at his son, who was shivering from the cold. His nose was running, and the shirts weren’t keeping him warm anymore. He was freezing...and Greg finally let it sink in that he needed help. Badly. Vidalia had her own family to worry about and the gems were no longer an option...which left him with one choice. His parents were the only family he had left, his aunt and uncle had already passed away and he knew that his older cousin Andy wouldn’t be happy to see him after he deserted the family...so there really was no other choice. Steven couldn’t survive in a beat up old van. Not in a blizzard like this. He could beg for help just from the blizzard and then leave again with Steven, but without anyone else around Greg knew that raising his son solely in a van and not a proper home could lead to some terrible side effects…</p>
<p>He sat in the van for nearly forty-five minutes, debating with himself. Was he really just going to waltz up to his parents with a five month old baby and surprise them with the news that not only did his music career not take off, but he had a child and a dead girlfriend? Would they even let him in? Would they dictate his life again and put him back in that horrible cycle of control? He tried to find every reason he could to just turn around and drive back to Delmarva, but in the end Greg knew deep in his heart that he could never risk his son’s health or even his life.</p>
<p>It was a very slow walk to the front door, agonizingly stopping at each step, wanting to turn around. But after shuffling his feet enough times, he finally got to the front door. He raised his fist to knock, before remembering that they hated that and always preferred the doorbell because it was proper. He used to knock on the door just to spite them, but not this time...he surrendered the urge and lifted his finger to ring the doorbell, the very sound of the chime feeling like a punch in the gut.</p>
<p>He waited maybe around thirty seconds before his mother came to the door and opened it, her tired eyes widening at the sight, her mouth opening slightly in shock.</p>
<p>“G-gregory?”</p>
<p>Greg swallowed his anxiety, forcing a smile. “H-hey, Mom…”</p>
<p>As fast as her eyes widened, they went straight back to their strict nature, looking him over. “What are you doing here? You made it clear that you didn’t want to be a part of this family.”</p>
<p>Greg was shaking, although he didn’t know whether it was from the cold or his fear. “I-I know...but listen, Mom, I...I need help…”</p>
<p>Claudia DeMayo just looked at her adult son with betrayal, tempted to just shut the door on him. “And why should we help you? You left us. Not even a note. You broke our hearts and yet here you are at our front step begging? Surely in the eight years you’ve been gone you’ve found some sort of friends that can help you.”</p>
<p>At this point, Gerald DeMayo had overheard his wife from the living room, getting up and walking over, looking at his son through thick glasses. “So. You’re back, huh. Don’t you dare expect anything from us. You turned your back on us.”</p>
<p>His mother and father were just as scary to him as the day he left at 18 years old. They stared at him with the same strict and piercing eyes, but this time there was no warmth. Just betrayal and anger. “I...I wrote you guys letters...you never wrote back…”</p>
<p>Claudia bristled. “Yes. What an insult. How could you expect us to read those?! Just so you could hurt us more by gleefully ranting about how you threw your life away?! You could have been something, Gregory! But you never wanted to listen!”</p>
<p>Despite being away for eight years, Greg knew very well when his parents were fed up and about to end a conversation. They would slam the door in his face and he’d still be left with a hungry and freezing child. It was now or never.</p>
<p>He looked to the bundle of t-shirts in his arms, slowly pulling a few away to reveal Steven’s little head popping out of them. The sight of the baby caused both his parents to gasp, and his mother even took a step back.</p>
<p>“Gregory! You have a baby?!”</p>
<p>He winced at his mother’s shrieking tone, similar to the one she would use if he got caught sneaking out. His father joined her, and he just let himself wince as they immediately threw questions at him rapidly and angrily. He let them yell, waiting for their anger to die down, if only slightly.</p>
<p>“Look...I know things are rocky between us. I know what I did to you guys. But...I have a son. This is Steven...he’s about five months old. And my girlfriend, his mother, is...dead.” He had to take a breath, having been quite a while since he had to openly say that his girlfriend was dead.</p>
<p>The sympathy and softness he was expecting did not come at all. In fact, the anger and betrayal only doubled, and their shouts got even louder.</p>
<p>“Let me get this straight, Gregory. You ran away from us for eight years and did absolutely NOTHING with your life and now you’re 26, unmarried, and have a baby?! Where did we go wrong? We didn’t raise you like this!!”</p>
<p>“This is highly inappropriate and unacceptable! How dare you even show your face to us after doing such shameful things?!”</p>
<p>The screaming had gotten to the volume of which Steven was getting upset, and amidst the yelling was also Steven’s scared cries, curling into his father’s arms for comfort and protection. He hushed his son, kissing his head and trying his best to make him stop crying at least. Seeing him interact with the crying baby had now made his parents quiet, but the damage had already been done.</p>
<p>Greg was mad. No, fuming. He hadn’t even been this mad when his mother had forced him to shave his head for graduation right before a music gig. This was on another level. Rage boiled over from all the years he had suffered with them, and he stared straight into their eyes, holding nothing back.</p>
<p>“Is that really all you can do?! Is that really all you can SAY?! You just stand there and LECTURE me as I just told you why I’m here in the first place! I’m here on your doorstep for the first time in eight years begging for your help because my girlfriend of four years died and left me with our infant son!! I’m scared and I need help and I don’t want my son to freeze to death! So for once in your life stop looking at me and trying to fix me and scold me and HELP me!!”</p>
<p>He was panting heavily right after he’d said it, shaking from both the cold and anger. His parents stood in the doorway with wide eyes, completely in shock. In the eighteen years they had had Greg in their household, he had never ever raised his voice like that and completely shouted at them. But in a way perhaps it was the best thing he could have done. Now shaken to their cores, they no longer looked at Greg as someone to turn away and get rid of. In fact, their attention had turned to the tears in Greg’s eyes and the shivering baby in his arms. Without some proper heat and care the infant would surely not survive...and the fact of the matter was that this was still their grandson.</p>
<p>Claudia was the first to speak, giving her a son a look that finally wasn’t filled with anger. “Alright...bring him inside. He needs to get warm…”</p>
<p>After allowing himself to calm down from the outburst, Greg slowly made his way past his parents and through the door. Memories flooded him at the familiar sight of his childhood home, just the way he remembered it. The smell of potpourri tickled his nose and at the same time burned it with painful nostalgia. </p>
<p>He headed straight to his room, anxious to at least get Steven wrapped up in the bed. But as he walked up the stairs and made his way to his childhood room, it was the only place in the house that had changed in the eight years he’d been gone. The bed was gone, as was most of his furniture. All of his stuff was neatly packed into boxes, hidden away in this room to be forgotten. It wasn’t even his room anymore, it was just...a room.</p>
<p>Claudia followed him, knowing what he’d find. “We can put a new bed in there in a couple days. But for now I hope the couch will suffice.”</p>
<p>“Uh, yeah...that’s fine.” Greg was too focused on looking around the room before tending to Steven, pulling him out of the bunched up t-shirts and letting him finally breathe in his little onesie with the buttons buttoned up to allow his diamond to “breathe” for whatever reason.</p>
<p>The odd object immediately caught Claudia’s eyes. “Good Lord, what’s wrong with him?! He has a tumor!”</p>
<p>“What?! No, no, this is...this is just the way he was born. It’s not a tumor, Mom, it’s...something else.”</p>
<p>“A deformity? A birthmark? That doesn’t look normal, Gregory! And what’s with his eyes?!”</p>
<p>It hadn’t really sunk in until now that he was going to have to tell his parents that Rose was a gem and therefore Steven was a hybrid of a gem and a human. Oh boy…</p>
<p>“Well Mom...you see, my girlfriend Rose...was an alien. She had a gem like this poking out of her belly. It let her do magic stuff. And when she gave birth to Steven...she gave it to him. So...Steven is a hybrid of a gem and a human.” He looked at his mother nervously, almost ready to get kicked out again.</p>
<p>Claudia blinked for a few moments before scoffing. “Gregory that’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard. You need to take him to a doctor- oh nevermind, I’ll take care of it. I’ll call in for him to get looked at once this horrible storm has blown over.” With that, she turned and left the room, going to get the couch ready.</p>
<p>Greg decided not to argue, figuring it was best that she didn’t believe what he told her. She never believed in magic and never would...and it didn’t matter if she knew the truth or not. What mattered was that Steven was safe. He leaned against the wall, cradling his son in his arms as the baby nuzzled him. For the first time since they’d been at Vidalia’s house, he smiled, and kissed his son’s head lightly.</p>
<p>“Don’t you worry, schtu-ball...I think everything is going to be okay now. It will be hard dealing with them...but you’ll be safe and cared for...and that’s what matters…”</p>
<p>As Greg struggled not to fall asleep against the wall he just admired his son, looking at the gem positioned in his belly. Hopefully the doctors wouldn’t tamper with it...he’d knock out anybody that tried to hurt his little buddy. Looking at the gem also made him think of Rose, and the promise he made her to take care of their son. He was going to fulfill that promise...even if he hated being in this house. </p>
<p>Greg knew full well once his parents found out Steven had no papers or even a birth certificate that they would arrange for him to have all of that. And when they asked him to fill out a birth certificate what would he even write? Rose had decided on Steven Quartz Universe...but that didn’t seem to fit him with his gem the way it was. As he studied the gem that connected his son together, it came to his mind quickly exactly what he would write on the birth certificate.</p>
<p>Steven Diamond Universe.</p>
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